<p> The mathematics classroom learning environment is often evaluated using numeric scores collected on standardized assessments. Research examining mathematics classroom environments and teacher practices has focused on ways to improve scores on these assessments. In contrast, this study centered on exploring teacher perspectives on creating classroom environments to support student growth beyond test scores. Qualitative case studies of four experienced high school mathematics teachers provided interview data to explore the concept of positive supportive classroom cultures teachers created for students. The cases showed the teachers&rsquo; intentions and actions that built culture and supported student learning in their classrooms. Findings revealed teacher professional communities influenced their classroom communities. The teachers valued organic collaboration among their peers. In their classrooms, the teachers created a climate of collaborative learning and engaged students as contributors. The teachers took pride in the cultures they created and had clear perspectives about the effects of the cultures on their students. Teachers noted the cultures they created supported three areas of student growth: students feeling safe in the classroom to ask questions and describe challenges, students improving their confidence through social comfort working with peers, and students showing improvement in self-confidence in learning, both in mathematics and in school overall.</p>

<p>Esta investigacion tuvo como proposito estudiar como los estudiantes aprenden cuando se exponen a nuevas practicas educativas de solucion de situaciones en contexto, a traves de treinta estudiantes del nivel superior del Departamento de Educacion de Puerto Rico (DEPR) que toman un curso de Trigonometria. Las mismas estuvieron apoyadas en la estrategia pedagogica de Aprendizaje Basado en Proyecto. La idea de exponer a los estudiantes a resolver situaciones en contexto surgio al estudiar la teoria de aprendizaje de la Matematica en Contexto. Desde un paradigma cualitativo con un dise?o en investigacion en accion se exploro como los estudiantes en los grados superiores resuelven situaciones dentro de su entorno. Se le dio enfasis en como ellos analizan a traves de situaciones en contexto, y como construyen conocimiento a traves de la busqueda de una posible solucion al problema a traves de la estrategia de Aprendizaje Basado en Proyectos. Los resultados revelaron que los estudiantes se sintieron parte de la situacion dentro de su entorno y conocian los factores causantes de la misma. Sus impresiones fueron motivacion para desarrollar el Proyecto Escolar que titularon: Rescatando el Huerto Escolar: Sembrando Conciencia. Como parte del proyecto utilizaron sus conocimientos de ciencia y matematica para ir resolviendo la situacion. De esta manera, aprendieron conceptos matematicos que son parte de la base del curso de Trigonometria y que se miden en las pruebas de aprovechamiento academico llamadas Metas PR, antes conocidas como Pruebas Puertorrique?as de Aprovechamiento Academico (PPAA). Proclamaron la colaboracion y organizacion para desarrollar posibles soluciones al problema convirtiendose ellos en una sociedad dedicada a buscar alternativas. Este estudio es una aportacion al mejoramiento y transformacion de la practica social y educativa, a la vez que procura una mejor comprension de dicha praxis. Se desarrollaron dos propuestas curriculares enmarcadas en dos modelos sobre la base de Aprendizaje Basado en Proyectos: 1) Modelo de instrumentos esenciales para alcanzar la estrategia de Aprendizaje Basado en Proyectos; 2) Modelo de extensiones en la creacion de proyectos escolares. Estas propuestas son recomendadas para los maestros y maestras que imparten cursos de matematicas y quieren introducir a sus estudiantes en nuevas practicas para aprender matematica.

<p> There is deep concern the United States is not preparing enough students, teachers, and professional mathematicians and scientists to sustain the economic and scientific development that has made this country great. The problem is that elementary teachers are typically poorly prepared in mathematics, which is ultimately placing students at a disadvantage as they advance through the higher grades and college without a strong mathematics foundation. Educational studies have pointed to the importance of providing elementary teachers with on-going improvement of pedagogical practice in mathematics, but elementary teachers remain underprepared to teach it. The purpose of this mixed-methods research is to study the effectiveness of Lesson Study as a means of professional development for elementary teachers&rsquo; implementation of the Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practices (CCSS).</p><p> The study focuses on teachers&rsquo; perceptions of Lesson Study and their ability to develop lessons incorporating the CCSS Standards for Mathematical Practices and their ability to engage students in developing mathematical thinking. Literature pertaining to Lesson Study reveals the importance of sustained professional development for teachers. In collaboration with the SSD Superintendent and the School Board of SSD, all seven of the district&rsquo;s elementary schools participated in the study focusing on elementary school teachers in grades 2-5 (<i>n</i>=64). Researchers from the Urban Education Institute at the University of Chicago randomly assigned these teachers into equal groups of either the treatment group (<i>n</i>=32) or the control group (<i>n</i>=32). The elementary teachers who participated in this study were part of the Lesson Study professional development treatment group (<i>n</i>=32) in grades 2-5. The findings suggest Lesson Study can be an effective means of professional development for implementing the Common Core State Standards and the Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practices. Through Lesson Study teachers can begin to move away from a teacher-centered classroom to one that focuses on a student-centered approach to teaching and learning. Educational policymakers will learn from this study how teachers can benefit from Lesson Study as a type of professional development and how it can support teachers as they integrate new ideas into classroom practice. </p>

<p> In Florida, passing the Algebra I end-of-course examination (EOCE) is a graduation requirement. The test measures knowledge of basic algebra. In spring 2015, the Department of Education introduced a different version of the test. For the first two administrations of the new test, the failure rate for 9th-grade students in the state was almost 50%. In contrast, the failure rate for students in the school where this study was implemented exceeded 70%. The purpose of this study was to determine the outcome of small group intervention focusing on operations with rational numbers of high school students&rsquo; performance on the Algebra I EOCE. </p><p> After analyzing several potential methods of instruction, small group instruction with the incorporation of the use of manipulatives, visuals, and guided inquiry was selected. In addition, the focus of the study was chosen to be operations with rational numbers, an area many researchers have identified as critical for student understanding of algebraic concepts. Twenty students from the target population of 600 10th and 11th grade students volunteered to participate in the study. These participants received three to six small group instruction sessions before retaking the test. In Sept 2016, all the students in the target population were administered the Algebra I EOCE again. A t-test yielded no significant difference in the learning gains of those who participated in the study and the other students in the target population. The implications of the results were that the interventions had no significant impact on student achievement. A possible reason for the lack of success could have been that six intervention sessions were not enough to produce significant results. It is recommended that future research includes a substantially larger number of interventions.</p><p>

<p>The purpose of this study was to examine teachers? perceptions of the use of AVID in the math classroom in regards to future implementation of AVID in mathematics. To fully examine these perceptions, teachers identified the perceived benefits and drawbacks of AVID as well as the AVID WICOR strategies. This was done in two phases. The first phase was a survey that gathered basic demographic information as well as information that pertained to their initial thoughts on the use of the AVID WICOR strategies. From the survey data, five participants were chosen to be interviewed in phase two of the study to explore their perceptions further. The results from this phase were analyzed and coded to help further identify commonalities amongst interviewees. The data showed that all of the AVID WICOR strategies aligned with effective math teaching practices and offered benefits to students and student achievement if implemented.

<p> This mixed-methods study sought to explore the impact the role a mathematics curriculum coach has on teacher efficacy and instructional practice. </p><p> School systems across the country are being asked to do more with less money. At the same time, districts are faced with mathematics standards that require a new approach to instruction. In response to these issues, school districts are choosing to implement the role of a mathematics curriculum coach. As a result, the question is raised, &ldquo;are the funds utilized for math coaches being used effectively?&rdquo; This mixed-methods study compared two schools of similar makeup. School A employs a math curriculum coach, while School B employs a general curriculum coach. Through the use of a survey (MTEBI), curriculum coach journaling, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews, this study sought to answer three research questions: (a) What is the impact of the use of a math curriculum coach on teacher instructional practices in the area of math; (b) What is the impact of the use of a math curriculum coach on teacher perceptions of their instructional practice; and (c) What is the impact of the use of a math curriculum coach on teacher sense of self-efficacy? The survey was administered to all teachers at both schools with an overall response rate of 63.6%. The focus groups and interviews were a small random sample of teachers at each school who provided an in-depth view of their perceptions regarding the impact of the coaches on their instructional practice and self-efficacy as related to mathematics. The teachers had high levels of self-efficacy when teaching math and high outcome expectancy. These measures did not change over the period of the study. This study found that the math curriculum coach did have an impact on teacher instructional practices.</p><p>

Mathematics plays a key role in many of today’s most secure and financially rewarding careers. In almost every sector of the economy, a substantial core of mathematics is needed to prepare students both for work and for higher education. The impact of computers and information technology in areas as diverse as manufacturing and advertising means that understanding mathematics becomes more important because it provides students with basic prerequisites in other useful areas such as problem-solving. Technical students in Brunei are trained with the skills needed in the world of industry and commerce to become competent workers and many of them continue to pursue higher education. They need the right balance of mathematics that can prepare them for both purposes. Considered to be academically weak, and coming from the system (high schools) whose teaching approaches benefit abstract learners, these students need to be motivated and have their interest in mathematics nurtured. This study is an attempt to improve the mathematical skills of technical students in Brunei by developing a teaching and learning package that can be used by mathematics instructors with their students. The package was designed to provide student-centred instruction and focuses on the learning environment aspects of “Teacher Support”, “Innovation”, “Cooperation”, “Task Orientation” and “Relevance”. These learning environment aspects were incorporated into each category of the ARCS motivational model (Keller, 1983b) for the purpose of enhancing motivation. It was anticipated that students’ mathematical understanding and attitude would be improved when their learning environment and thus their motivation was enhanced. / When the package was implemented among a group of technical students, they experienced an approach to the teaching of mathematics that shifted from instruction fostering the procedures of practice and memorisation toward instruction that emphasised mathematical inquiry and conceptual understanding. Integrated curricula and cooperative learning techniques were used to link both the mathematics understanding of materials and their composition to the application of materials in the world of work. The use of technology to pursue mathematical investigations by way of learning aids was encouraged because the impact of technology on education today cannot be ignored. A group of students from two classes were involved in the implementation of the package to determine its effectiveness, for a duration of eight weeks. By applying the pre-experimental design methodology to the study, pre-test and post-test were used to measure students’ cognitive and affective changes. Mathematics proficiency in the categories of procedural skills, conceptual understanding and problem solving abilities were measured and examined by comparing students’ pre- and post-test results. Other forms of assessment such as projects and graded class-work (and homework) and also the communication that took place between the students during discussions were analysed to further validate their mathematical understanding. The learning environment and attitude factors mentioned were identified and validated through surveys, observations and interviews. A learning environment instrument called the College Classroom Environment Inventory (CCEI) was adapted for the purpose of measuring students’ perception of the learning environment. / Another instrument named the Attitude Towards Mathematics survey was designed to measure students’ attitude towards mathematics. Both instruments were created, validated and then used to measure students’ affective changes (before and after package implementation) and thus evaluate the efficacy of the package. Besides the quantitative data obtained, the qualitative data from observations and interviews was used to confirm, explain and verify results. The results obtained from this study demonstrated students’ improved cognitive outcome in all areas of mathematical proficiency measured. As for the affective outcome, there were improvements in students’ perception of the classroom environment and also in the attitude category of “Importance” where more post-test than pre-test students agreed on the importance of mathematics in everyday life. The result also indicated associations between cognitive outcomes and a number of the learning environment scales. Students who experienced the package also demonstrated better mathematical understanding compared to those who did not. Students, instructors, curriculum developers and administrators should benefit from the results of this study. The study also provides a starting point for more research of this kind to be carried out for the benefit of technical students in Brunei in particular, and for mathematics students generally.

<p> Persistence and retention of college students is a great concern in American higher education. The dropout rate is even more apparent among first-generation college students, as well as those majoring in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). More students earning STEM degrees are needed to fill the many jobs that require the skills obtained while in college. More importantly, those students who are associated with a low-socioeconomic background may use a degree to overcome poverty. Although many studies have been conducted to determine the characteristics associated with student attrition among first-generation students or STEM majors, very little information exists in terms of persistence and retention among the combined groups. The current qualitative study identified some of the characteristics associated with persistence and retention among first-generation college students who are also STEM majors. Participants were juniors or seniors enrolled at a regional 4-year institution. Face-to-face interviews were conducted to allow participants to share their personal experiences as first-generation STEM majors who continue to persist and be retained by their institution. </p><p> Tinto&rsquo;s Theory of Individual Departure (1987) was used as a framework for the investigation. This theory emphasizes personal and academic background, personal goals, disconnecting from one&rsquo;s own culture, and institutional integration as predictors of persistence. The findings of the investigation revealed that persisting first-generation STEM majors are often connected to family, but have been able to separate that connection with that of the institution. They also are goal-driven and highly motivated and have had varied pre-college academic experiences. These students are academically integrated and socially integrated in some ways, but less than their non-first-generation counterparts. They are overcoming obstacles that students from other backgrounds may not experience. They receive support from their families and institution, but have diverse academic backgrounds. The findings show that a culmination of many characteristics have enabled the participants to persist and be retained by their institution.</p><p>

This research study examined the importance of trust between instructor and students learning developmental mathematics in classrooms at 15 community colleges across Massachusetts. The study involved gathering new data using focus groups, field notes, surveys, and follow-up interviews with instructors and departmental chairs. Qualitative analysis was used to find emergent themes and connections to math anxiety and motivation. The study identified seven salient qualities of trust: respect, safe environment for students, belief in student's ability, care for student, competence of instructor, building over time, and destruction by betrayal. Instructors reported that increased classroom participation and student connection to instructor were factors that indicated trust was established. They also suggested teaching strategies to build trust: encouragement, mindful pedagogy, humanistic instruction, enabling student-to-student respect, situated applications, flexibility with assessments, and ensuring success. The causal impact of math anxiety was acknowledged: negative past experiences can block learning; lack of trust breeds hatred; fear and prejudice are barriers to learning; lack of trust can cause math anxiety; and trust lowers math anxiety and allows improved achievement. Instructors reported a "wall" as a metaphor that students use to describe their difficulties learning mathematics. Finally, the study recommends strategies for instructors to use to improve motivation for students learning mathematics: help establish a learning community, encourage self- efficacy, affirm students' questions, nudge students toward understanding, be a cheerleader, and utilize math support services.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:04:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 AlbimarGM_DISSERT.pdf: 3373987 bytes, checksum: 7c27635fd3aafbdd7457a8ba8b45b881 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-08-28 / This work has the main purpose of conducting a survey of educational products present in dissertations and doctoral theses focused on the use of history in mathematics teaching and Didactics of mathematics with a French foundation produced in graduate programs in the strict sense of the Brazil between 1990 and 2010, the areas of Education, Mathematics Education, school of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and related areas, according to the research proposal of Mendes (2010). Our interest was to select the products that present concrete proposals for educational activities that can be used in the classroom of Basic Education and Training of Teachers of Mathematics. The research was implemented through a bibliographic study documents the Bank of dissertations and theses from CAPES, libraries and archives of some Postgraduate programs in the country who focus their studies on the subject object of this research, besides the Brazilian Digital Library Theses and Dissertations (BDBTD). From this survey we selected works that present educational products materialized in blocks of activities based on the use of teaching history of mathematics to the classroom as well as the sequence of activities based on the Teaching of Mathematics. In possession of material, produce a CD-ROM containing the selected activities, in order to help support the work of teachers regarding the use of these activities, as a supplementary material to textbooks in their math classes / Este trabalho tem a finalidade principal de fazer um levantamento dos produtos educacionais presentes nas disserta??es de mestrado e teses de doutorado centradas no uso da Hist?ria no ensino da Matem?tica e na Did?tica da Matem?tica com fundamenta??o francesa, produzidas nos programas de P?s-Gradua??o stricto sensu do Brasil entre 1990 e 2010, das ?reas de Educa??o, Educa??o Matem?tica, Ensino de Ci?ncias Naturais e Matem?tica e ?reas afins, de acordo com a proposta de pesquisa de Mendes (2010). Nosso interesse foi selecionar os produtos que apresentem propostas concretas de atividades did?ticas que possam ser utilizadas na sala de aula da Educa??o B?sica e na Forma??o de Professores de Matem?tica. A pesquisa foi operacionalizada por meio de um estudo bibliogr?fico documental no Banco de disserta??es e teses da CAPES, nas bibliotecas e arquivos de alguns programas de P?s-gradua??o existentes no pa?s, que focam seus estudos no tema objeto desta pesquisa, al?m da Biblioteca Digital Brasileira de Teses e Disserta??es (BDBTD). A partir desse levantamento selecionamos os trabalhos que apresentavam produtos educacionais materializados em blocos de atividades baseadas no uso did?tico da Hist?ria da Matem?tica para a sala de aula, bem como nas sequ?ncias de atividades baseadas na Did?tica da Matem?tica. De posse do material, produzimos um CD-ROM contendo as atividades selecionadas, com vistas a contribuir para apoiar o trabalho dos professores com rela??o ao uso dessas atividades, na forma de um material complementar ao livro did?tico em suas aulas de Matem?tica